True Story - Fit and Successful Man on Campus

So after reviewing the Big Man on Campus articles and videos I was ecstatic to learn Bodybuilding.com did a piece on how you can stay fit and, more importantly, succeed in school; however, I was sincerely wishing the article was about me!

I am living proof that BB.com can not only help you be a big/fit/lean man or women on campus, but also an extraordinarily successful one. I went from being an unhappy, disorganized, 120 lb. something, college dropout to a 181 lb., 4.0 GPA, top of my class student (in both my undergraduate and graduate education). Moreover, I was an author on multiple scientific publications, a graduation speaker, a graduate student instructor, a research assistant, and won numerous academic awards due to the determination, motivation, hard work, and lifestyle instilled in me by BB.com.

In addition to these academic accolades, I managed to gain approximately 60 lbs. throughout my college career (most of it toward the beginning years) and stay lean in the process -- I believe my highest bodyfat percentage was around 10%.

I have achieved these aspirations and goals while concurrently living in an extraordinarily happy and successful marriage, maintaining a great social life, succeeding in my environmental science employment (currently in public service), and helping my family through difficult times. The culmination of these aforementioned attributes, I hope, makes me an inspiration and role-model to others.

I really wanted to share my story so that I could motivate, inspire, and help others! So please, do not hesitate to friend me on bodyspace (zane11) and ask me any questions you may have regarding nutrition, fitness, time management, or academics -- I would absolutely love to help. I reached out to the Bodybuilding.com team in hopes of sharing my story and I am waiting to hear back from them.

In addition to the knowledge and motivation instilled in me by BB.com, I put together a simple yet useful equation that helped me stay determined and motivated in my fitness, academic, and employment goals. The equation was I = CAN where I is impact, C is consistency, A is aspirations, and N is never give up.

So this is equation was not only a motivational and inspiring saying, but also made sense to me. Your overall impact-- whether it's academics, bodybuilding, or employment -- is a result of your consistency, aspirations, and ability to never give up. I made sure I had this equation somewhere that I would see it every day because it is inevitable that hardships will arise and unforeseen obstacles will occur. But, if you keep your eye on your aspirations, consistently work toward them realizing that it won't be easy, and never give up (even if you score poorly on a test, fall off your diet for a bit, miss a workout, or miss a deadline) I know that you can succeed. I encourage everyone to embrace challenges as opportunities and make sure to utilize the I = CAN equation, which worked so very well for me!

Again, I encourage anyone with questions to contact me -- I'd love to help out. I want to pay it forward. BB.com have helped me so much and I would love to give back!